Within The Depths
by Princess Beeduru
Summary: This is a HERCO fic. Its about draco coming to terms with emotions he thought he never knew. Passion, betrayal,and pure undiluted hate. Hermione's along for the ride and see how their lives get entangled. Their meeting is coming closer and closer. Post HB
1. Chapter 1

**First and foremost I'd like to say thatI do not own any harry potter character. IfI didI wouldnt be writing on fanfic now would I? So everything belongs to J.K.Rowling except the plot, storyline,and everything else synonymous. This applies throughout the whole story and because Im such a lazy bumI can't write it again and again and again and... well you get the picture.**

**A.N- I just want to stay that this fic will take a long time to develop. It is a Herco fic, but it will take some time to get there. Hope you have fun and enjoy the story. Without further ado, on withthe fic:**

'Do I make myself clear' the chilling voice reverberated round the four walls of the room. It was more a statement than a question.

'Yes, master. Perfectly!' came the reply.

The two looked at each other, feral smirks gracing their lips. 'I will be expecting progress reports every week. I give you leave to go now.'

'Thank you my lord.' with that the death eater with eyes of steel, hair of gold and aura of the unknown left the room with the swish of his cloak.

After his departure, maniacal laughter filled the room. 'We will see how you fare mister Malfoy. We will indeed.' Lord Voldemort surveyed his bony fingers and thought of how his plans would slowly begin to unfold and his reign of power will resume.

'Wormtail, bring it to me!' he hissed venomously.

Out of the shadows, a human began to materialize from his prior rat like state. He quickly bowed out of the room and came back a while later holding a golden goblet which glittered in the moonlight.

'My pretty,' he hissed, while fingering the object almost lovingly.

'We will have to part unfortunately, but not for long. You will come back to your place soon enough." Gazing at the object for a second longer he quickly whipped his wand out with surprising alacrity. With a few choice words the gold object faded into nothingness. Regaining the cold glimmer in his eyes he called the vermin to serve him.

'Wormtail tell Lucius to come immediately. He should be overjoyed with the task I have set his son'

Wormtail agreed and went outside to come back with three wizards dragging another one behind them. The almost lifeless body moved with the slightest touch. No doubt, the effect of having been tortured for the past few months.

'Avery, Bellatrix and Snape, thank you for bringing him here. I need to tell him something of greatest importance!'

Without a word the three brought Lucius forward. A long finger protruded from Voldemorts robes, which lightly touched Lucius' chin. Looking into his dull eyes he whispered (which just added to the seriousness of the situation), 'He has accepted'

These three words altered the lives of many.

Severus' eyes widened, Bellatrix nodded proudly and Avery was indifferent. Amongst the people a low moan was heard. All eyes landed on to the source of the sound. Looking at Lucius, Voldemort could barely see any emotion. But penetrating his mind showed otherwise. He was in pain because of what Voldemort had just said. He had been in pain the whole summer thanks to his master; he had been in emotional torment due to his wife and son. Now was the last boundary. He had just lost his son. He felt guilt because it was his entire fault. 'Forgive me, my son'

His eyes rolled into his head and slipped into a world of darkness before anyone else could act.

The silence which followed was dark and heavy. 'I want him to be placed back at the manor. Bella you will stay with him and ensure he does not step out of line. Keep him under the imperious, but lift it off during the night. I _want _him to suffer and to know that it was because of him his son is doing what he is doing. I want him to feel pain. He failed me and caused me to suffer, but what comes round…comes round…round. Hahahaha!'


	2. Interesting Revelations

**A.N- Thanks to Aqeela for reviewing! Thanks to my Beta, for helping me in my endeavour to make a worthy piece of literature. To my readers, or lack thereof, I hope this chapter is more to your liking. Enjoy!**

Meanwhile Harry potter and his friend Ron Weasley were discussing some serious stuff.

'Listen Harry. We need to do something. I heard there was an attack on central London. The death eaters are starting to make their presence known. The few that remained out of Azkaban are now enlarging their ranks to get more people. Quite a few of them are under the imperious.'

Harry remained deep in thought. The only sign of life was the movement of the creases on his forehead. How on earth was a 17 year old going to defeat the most evil wizard in Wizarding history?

This was going to be an extraordinary feat, if he was able to do it that is. He needed to use all the wit that he and the Order possessed in order for him to come near his goal. The first and foremost thing to do was to find the horcruxes. That was pretty obvious. But the main thing was how were they going to find them?

He knew that Hufflepuff's goblet, Nagini, and something belonging to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw were horcruxes, which needed to be destroyed. He still needed to find out about R.A.B, the person who had apparently taken Slytherin's Locket.

So much to do in so little time! It took a lot of self control to not turn completely mental from the sheer pressure.

Hermione was doing research. She was trying to find out as much as she could about the four founders. She had already discovered the whereabouts of their tombs but the problem lay not in the finding of them but in accessing them. The reason for her trying to find the tombs was because they had found out that within the tombs lay the founders' heirlooms.

Obviously Voldemort had put them elsewhere, in a place, which only _he _knew about, but still there was hope in finding them; because each tomb contained a sort of tracking device for the heirlooms. Evidently, the method of tracking the heirlooms was old magic; it was going to be very tricky to get the right spells, to articulate them in a proper manner and to do the incantation with the precise hand movements. However, it was the only possible way that the Order could get their hands on them.

One day, many months ago; Hermione found all this out. While shaking with excitement she told Ron and Harry about it.

Then Ron had asked. 'Mione?'

'What is it Ron?'

'Umm… this may be a stupid question, but what I don't understand is how come there's a method of finding the objects. I mean it's kind of like the founders knew that someone was planning on taking them.'

'Harry, would you like to answer that question or am I right in thinking that you want to know the answer yourself.'

Hermione got a sheepish grin as Harry's answer. Sighing she told them, 'listen guys. These objects were sacred to the founders. They _had_ to put a spell on them in order for them not to fall in the wrong hands… or any hands for that matter. Just incase something happened to their heirlooms they needed a keep safe or some sort of thing in which there would be a way to get the things should they be misplaced. They could not do anything themselves obviously since they would be …well… dead. But they wanted to make sure that someone would somehow be able to get their belongings back.'

'Okay. I get that now, but _still…'_

'But still what Ron?'

'I think what Ron is trying to say Hermione is that, shouldn't they have put some sort of curse on the people who tried to take their objects?'

'Ever wonder why Voldemort suddenly transformed from the handsome Tom Riddle, to look how he is now?' Hermione said with raised eyebrows.

'Good point. But why did the curse take only his appearance? Why were the curses not life threatening or something?' inquired Ron

'Oh, but they are.' To their mystified looks, Hermione carried on.

'When Voldemort took the objects from their tombs he paid a heavy price. I know his goal was to put his soul into the heirlooms but while doing so he didn't just take a part of his soul away, the founders took a part of him away from himself.'

'Do you mind talking sense Mione?' That undignified comment came from Ron. Ever the impatient one.

'If you let me continue Ronald, I was just about to explain. Let's just imagine that Tom Riddle had not planned on making a horcrux but still took the objects out.

Part of his soul would be taken in and would never be let out. Tom Riddle once had feelings, remember that. He wasn't born a heartless bastard, he was made into one. While doing what he was, the founders (bar Slytherin, since he was a blood relative) sucked his emotions out. That is one of the main reasons he doesn't understand love or hate. He is only familiar with evil. He only knows things, which would make the world an unbearable place.

Before you ask me why he doesn't feel hate even though it is believed that it is stemmed from evil, is because hate comes from love. It is an _emotion_. You hate someone because they did something to offend what you love or something like that.'

Seeing that they were still puzzled, Hermione continued.

'Let's take the example of… Malfoy. We hate him, but why? Its because he made fun of us.'

Addressing them separately she started, 'Ron, he makes fun of your family, something that you love.'

Turning over to Harry she revealed, 'He keeps teasing you about having no family and you hate him for it because you really want to have one. To emphasize, you would _love _to have a family.'

'On the other hand,' she passionately placed her hand on her chest, 'My reason for hating him is because he always tries to make me feel _inferior_ to him. I don't like bowing down to anyone. I have my own freewill and my independence. I am by no means saying I am better than everyone else but am saying that we are all equal. For someone to take that away from me would obviously acquire my hatred!

So Voldemort does not know hate, though he thinks he does. He knows only power and wants to gain it no matter what the consequences. He only wants to emerge on top. _That_ my friends, is the curse that the founders put on those who removed their belongings.'

'Voldemort's personality or lack thereof is starting to make sense now,' said Harry with dawning comprehension.

'So now, if we get back on track, Voldemort _did_ lose something precious but does not know it. Now, our main aim is to get to the founders' tombs and access them quickly before total chaos ensues.'

'Hermione, what would we do without you?' said Ron in awe.

'Probably mope around all day and manage to get kicked up the ass many times in a row.' Hermione smiled while she stated the facts.

They all started laughing, which was good because it alleviated their tension and temporarily lifted the foreboding atmosphere around them.

Harry brought himself back to the present. Ron was looking at him awaiting his response.

'We go in search for the tombs, on Monday!' he exclaimed vehemently.

'You sure about this, Harry?'

'I've been waiting for this for a long time. It's time to get started. Hermione should be coming back from the library soon. We need to talk about how we plan on getting to where we need to go. The supplies, the skills that will be needed and so forth.'

Looking into Harry's emerald eyes one could see an air of finality. The past few months had been less than kind to him. No teenager had to suffer the same extent as he. The world was resting on his shoulders and he just _had_ to deliver. When he had found out about the prophecy he made a shell around himself that no one could penetrate. He wanted to be alone. But then came Hermione and Ron to his rescue. They not only shared his burden but lessened it. It was true that in the end it came down to him to vanquish the dark lord. But he could not get to that point at all if it had not been for his friends.

Their talents were such that Harry often wondered if fate had purposely given him friends with those qualities. Hermione's intelligence, Ron's strategic mind and of course their love and courage, joined with Harry's attributes made such a remarkable team. It was perfectly suited for vanquishing!

Suddenly, someone tumbled into the lounge with half a dozen scrolls or so. Brown hair flapping about and handbag slipping off her shoulder. Please welcome Hermione Granger. Tiredness was etched on every line of her youthful face, but then again that is what would happen when one is confined to the library for hours on end.

'I found it' were the words which escaped Hermione's mouth. It was received by many opened mouths and shocked faces.

'Found what exactly?" questioned Fleur. She and Bill were happily married and were both currently in the presence of the Order. Not many people knew of what the 'golden trio' were up to. Harry only wanted the senior members of the Order to know what they were planning on doing. After the speculation period was over he would alert the other members of what was going on. He didn't want to give them false hope.

'I found …the book concerning some old spells that Voldemort would most probably use.' Hermione finished quite lamely.

'Oh right.'

'Well, um. Harry, Ron could you please meet me upstairs after an hour or so?' Receiving an affirmative nod from Harry, she turned and went upstairs.

The first thing that Hermione did was jump unceremoniously onto bed. 'This feels good.' She thought. After coming back from endless researching she deserved a bit of rest. She sunk herself back into her pillow, taking in all the softness of the bed, and ended up falling into a deeply deserved slumber.

There was a knocking sound and then the noise of a door squeaking.

Murmuring voices could be heard. 'Shall we wake her up?'

'Nah, let her sleep. Just give her another hour or so.'

'Alright Ron.'

It was at that moment that the girl in the bed stirred.

'Lets go Harry, before she does our head in for not letting her sleep'

Padded footsteps could be heard throughout the hallway. Hermione just smiled lovingly at 'her boys'. They really were cute. She hadn't expected to fall asleep for longer than half an hour, but oh well what's done is done. Slowly she got out of bed and went to the shower, to waken herself up. That was _the_ remedy for every ailment including lethargy. (** A.N -or so my beta says).**

As the cold water hit her head like a ton of bricks she got jolted out of lala land. She was in the middle of the war and played one of the main characters in it. She had just found out how to get to Helga Hufflepuff's tomb and what the charms were to actually gain entry into it. It had cost her many sleepless nights wondering about the undecipherable writings in an ancient book, but afterwards, her painstaking efforts _finally_ bore fruit!

She had just scored information, which had probably not been known since possibly the time of Helga Hufflepuff herself. Smiling to herself, she stepped out of the shower and got dressed. She tidied her room (which had been neglected for the past few days) with the wave of her wand and then gathered some scrolls together, which would aid her in her little presentation. And then she went to her door and called for her two best friends.

One after the other they trudged up the stairs. She beckoned them in and sat them down on her bed, while making the bare wall her makeshift screen. Giving them a grave look, she told them about what she had found out. Skipping over the finer details, she briefed them on her findings. She preferred to go over it in great depth with the presence of the senior Order members.


	3. Saying Goodbye

**A.N- Hey everyone whose reading this. Sorry for taking too long to update. Am busy with college admissions. (sucks, yea I know)**

**Anyway thanks are in order especially to my Beta. You know who you are! She is the one that stops this from becoming a train wreck! Thank you!**

**Those of you who are reading this, could you please, please, _please_ review. If you don't like the fic, then tell me _why_ you don't like it. ** **And if you do, can you tell me that you do, please!**

**If you want some Draco Hermione action, you don't have to wait long. They're coming closer to meeting each other. They will meet in the chapter after the next one. Just think of these chapters as the prelude to the whole story.**

Two hours later Hermione was tingling with excitement and it was because the meeting went much better than expected. She thought that the senior members would find flaws in her plan and Ron's line of attack. Surprisingly no one pointed out an error and even more surprising… well more on the flattering side really; the older people actually _liked_ them! The meeting was very serious indeed. Her information merged with Ron's strategic mind gave quite a promising plan.

They had decided that Ron and Hermione should go but the Order had been adamant that Harry should not. This resulted in lots of arguing especially from Harry.

'Listen, I know you are all worried about me, and I am really grateful, but I can handle my self perfectly well. I _know_ I need to be kept safe so I can battle Voldemort. But that does not mean that I need to sit at home knitting, while my friends are out there risking their neck for us. I'm supposed to help defeat Voldemort and finding the horcruxes, then destroying them _is_ part of the agenda. I can't kill Voldemort without the annihilation of the horcruxes. Dumbledore wanted me to do this. Why else would he have told me about them? By not letting me go you are disrespecting Dumbledore!'

Hermione felt that the last part was bit melodramatic, but it _was_ the truth. And slowly the Order saw it that way too. After what seemed like an age, Remus (who was the unofficial leader) finally gave his assent.

Her joyous smile faded and was replaced by a grim one full of anticipation. It would be by no means easy but it was possible. The plan was simple enough. They had to go to Drygan Fawr in Wales, find where the hidden entrance was and go inside to retrieve the spell. Simple, HA! It would be a wonder if they got there in one piece. The death eaters would pounce on them the moment they came into the open. They had to be very careful.

If something didn't go according to plan… 'No' Hermione thought to herself. ' everything will go perfectly.'

She had told Ron where the location was and it was up to him, how they were going to get there. They had to maintain a very low profile. Disguises were crucial to the outcome of their mission. These three had been in the press way more then they would have liked to be. Not counting the fact that they had already encountered the death eaters before. They needed pseudonyms as well as charms to alter their physical attributes.

Harry's scar was the obvious place to start. It had to be covered; Ginny helped by telling them that they can just use dollops of her foundation, something which she had a lot of. Harry had gracefully declined the offer. It just didn't appeal to him. Hermione laughed while remembering the panicked look on Harry's face. That was when they had decided on using a charm to hide the scar.

Hermione on the other hand, had to do something about her personality. She wouldn't really be looked over twice, since she looked pretty ordinary, but her intelligence more than made up for it. She had the horrible task of not showing off any of her talents. This was a big deal for Hermione. How was she going to survive?

Her friends had told her to keep her mouth shut at all times and only to open it when alone or in an emergency. She was still rather angry at them for thinking that she couldn't live without spouting off her knowledge 24/7, even if it _was_ true. But she was going to prove them wrong. Oh yes she was!

She didn't _want_ to turn into some bimbo, who only worries about themselves, but her thirst for proving herself to her friends was far too strong. She had argued about what her intelligence had to do with the disguise. Her only answers were that it was just an added precaution.

'I mean being a muggleborn, the death eaters would mark you as their prey anyway. Not to mention that you are one of my best friends, who has helped me in thwarting Voldemort. They know your personality since you're practically famous for it, so you need to mellow it down a bit. We don't need another risk. Better safe than sorry, Mione'

'It's silly though,' she said more to herself then anyone else, 'what good will it do?'

'It will do a great deal of good,' the wise voice of Remus was heard.

'And how exactly is that?' she said rather haughtily.

'Hermione, you have changed physically since the death eaters saw you last. You may have to do something else to alter your looks slightly, but you're different enough as it is. Imagine seeing someone you thought bore a resemblance to someone you knew, but even then couldn't be sure if it was that person or not. The first thing would be to see how they act. If a death eater walked past you, while you were… grasping books here and there, they would match those actions with a face and voila. They would find you to be Hermione Granger!'

'That's true,' Hermione mused silently to herself.

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. She knew she had changed physically. She had managed to tame down her hair, but it still wasn't how she wanted it to be. It crackled with electricity whenever she was excited or extremely angry. She had grown a few inches taller, though not as tall as Harry or Ron. Her face had matured and was no stranger to all the worries present in the world. The premature lines on her face proved that. Her eyes were as brown as always. Other than that, she wasn't that different.

'I supposed it wouldn't hurt anything except my pride, and it _would_ be for our best interests.' In the end she agreed earning a sigh of relief from Order.

But looking onto other important matters at hand, she focused her attention on Ron.

His trademark ginger hair had to be dealt with. It would be a dead giveaway if anyone saw a flash of bright red hair as it was _the _identifying feature of the Weasley family. People didn't have to recognize that it was specifically Ron to want to kill him, because any member of the family was wanted dead by Voldemort.

They were now discussing possible hair colours.

'WHAT! NO WAY AM I DYING IT BLONDE. I'LL LOOK LIKE… LIKE…' Ron in his tirade couldn't even finish the sentence.

'Malfoy?' supplied Hermione.

There was a collective shudder. It wasn't just from disgust for Ron looking like Draco Malfoy but of anger; which still hadn't dissipated. This anger was the outcome of many years of taunting, teasing and bullying on both parties' part. But the main reason why this schoolyard tension had increased was because of the younger Malfoy's role in the assassination of Albus Dumbledore. There was no possible way that they could forget it.

Harry sometimes wondered what Draco Malfoy would be doing now. Would he be running away from Voldemort because in the end, he couldn't kill Dumbledore? Or would he still be in the death eater circle? He sometimes felt sorry for him. Had he been part of the killing of someone else, Harry would not have beeen so hard on him. He understood that Voldemort was threatening him, the fate of his family rested on his shoulders.

But Dumbledore was very close to Harry's heart. His rational side told him not to blame Malfoy for what he did, but _who_ exactly listens to their rational side nowadays? He still harboured anger against him as did perhaps most of the wizarding community.

He shook his head trying to remove these thoughts. Time was too precious; he couldn't waste it by thinking of Malfoy.

Back to the matter at hand. They had to disguise themselves to avoid detection by unwanted people. It was probably a long shot that the death eaters would recognize them due to a mass of dead keratin, and someone's behaviour, but still there was a chance and that was something the trio were not willing to take.

They were ready! It had been three days since the meeting and now they were finally on their way. It had been a day of tears especially on Molly Weasley's part. The two children who she had come to think of as her own along with Ron were now all grown up! Here they were, going away to save the wizarding world. To rid them of the scum that had come to call itself Lord Voldemort. The older members were very sad to see them leave. They were wishing for their youth back so they could go instead but fate hadn't put this task in their hands for nothing. It was common knowledge that these three teens were the best for the job.

The trio spent their last night with Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Fred and George. Fleur had gone to bed early, because she had migraine. Percy was not there, even though he apologized to his family about his rash decisions. He _was_ welcomed back to the family, not necessarily with open arms however was brought back nonetheless but he was definitely NOT part of the Order. No matter how much Molly had protested on his behalf, the Order was not willing to take such a person, who had swayed from their path. He had to redeem himself in their eyes and as of yet, Percy hadn't done that.

Ginny and Harry went off alone to talk privately. Charlie and Bill gave him a warning glare. Harry chuckled to himself. The two had been going out for nearly four months and still, Bill and Charlie were apprehensive about her dating. The only thing that kept them from lunging at the boy who was dating their youngest and only sister, was the fact that she was with _Harry Potter_. No ordinary boy. A person who knew, not only how to protect himself but others too. They knew he would do all he could to not let any harm befall Ginny.

Walking away to her bedroom, Harry thought it was safe to finally talk to her. He steeled himself. He knew what he was about to say wasn't going to fare well with Ginny. He had told her at Dumbledore's funeral and she didn't listen to him. Harry had given her ample time to think about it and thought that it was now or never. He liked her a lot, and didn't want to see her get hurt emotionally _or_ physically. He was doing this for _her_ benefit.

'Ginny' he whispered.

'Harry, don't! I know what you're going to say.'

Harry forced himself to hide the smile, which was about to form itself on his lips. Four months only, and already Ginny knew him so well.

'Don't you dare even _think_ of breaking up with me Harry Potter!' she hissed.

'Ginny, I don't want to see you get hurt. I like you a lot and if Voldemort finds out, think of what he's going to do to you.' he said pleadingly.

'Harry, I'm sixteen!'

'What's that got to do with anything?' he asked looking puzzled.

'Phff…I know what I'm getting into if I go out with you. I'm not a child. I know what could happen. I know I can get killed, tortured, or held captive among other less glamorous outcomes.' She said while looking over to Harry whose face hardened with every utterance of her words.

'But Harry, while Voldemort is still at large, that's the possible fate of everyone in this world. It's true that now they might want me _more_ than before, but that's the case with quite a lot of people.'

Harry opened his mouth, but Ginny's glare shut him up almost immediately.

'Harry. I can look after myself and I _want_ to be with you, the whole way. I can't bear the thought of you telling me to stay out of trouble while you go play with fire yourself.'

Seeing Harry's downcast face, she slipped her hands into his. 'I want to be with you Harry.' She murmured softly.

Harry was full of inner turmoil. Deep in his heart, he didn't want to let Ginny go. He felt selfish in saying this but he wanted her to always be with him. But he couldn't put her in any sort of risk. Imagine if he came back one day and saw Ginny sprawled on the floor, not moving. He shuddered at the thought. He already lost most of the people he loved; he couldn't afford giving her the same fate.

He couldn't even tell her where he was going tomorrow or what it was that he was planning to do. She obviously knew that Harry had to kill Voldemort and that it was going to be a hard journey, but she didn't know anything about the horcruxes and Harry planned on keeping it that way. He didn't want to put her in any more danger. But seeing Ginny looking at him with the blue eyes he grew to love, he just fell and gave in, so that he could be with her.

His selfish side won.

'Ginny, listen. I really want to be with you too, but it's going to be hard. You know that I'm going away tomorrow.' He received an affirmative nod.

'I might be gone for a long time. We won't be able to have a proper relationship anyway. We can't keep in touch by owl because they're traceable. If you really want to be with me you're going to have to wait and… I don't know how long it might take.'

'I'm willing to wait Harry.'

He couldn't speak. There was something blocking his throat. His heart welled up with emotion. It was lucky that this moment was very precious and words weren't needed to see the amount of love between these two beings. Their arms encircled each other. Ginny's face rested on his chest and she inhaled his scent, comforting herself with Harry's closeness.

When Harry could finally speak, he murmured 'thank you.'

This was the position in which Hermione found them. She had come to call them downstairs. She smiled at what she saw. Her heart went out to them. She longed to have someone like that. She had never felt jealous before but now she envied Ginny. It's not that she liked Harry like that of course, because they shared a bond like that of siblings.

She envied how calm Ginny was. How Ginny had someone she could lean on. Hermione wondered when she would be able to have someone like that. She would probably never have the chance to have someone like that _now_. She was in the war and there was a probability that she would not come back …alive.

A tear slowly made its way down her face. The tear didn't symbolize fear of death rather; it was for not being able to experience everything she had wanted. There was a minor thing going on with Ron and her but it stopped a while ago. They realized that they fought way too often for a stable relationship and were better off friends.

She knew it was very sappy but couldn't help thinking 'where's my Prince Charming?'

Little did Hermione know that with each passing day, she was coming closer and closer to the meeting with her intended.

Getting herself together, she cleared her throat to get Harry's attention. He looked around at the sudden interruption. Seeing Hermione, he blushed and smiled. Ginny let go but kept his hand in her grasp. They walked hand in hand with Hermione in the lead.

No one spoke. The silence wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest, it was actually rather soothing. One by one everyone began to leave for bed. Until it was just Harry, Ron and Hermione left besides the dwindling fire place. They looked at each other.

Their friendship had come a long way since the meeting with the troll in their first year at Hogwarts. It had gone through its fair share of ups and downs, and was now incredibly strong.

Nothing could break it!

**A.N- hope you liked. Ginny/ harry fluff, don't they make such a cute couple! They're so kawaii!**

**Were getting there. The next chappie focuses on our favourite slytherin, Draco!**

**Once again, review ppl. Don't make me beg… no I wont… don't make me…**

**FINE! ( Throws hands up in defeat) _Please, please, please, please_ review!**

**Until next time, Ciao!**

**A.N number two! I was reading this story on and then… I saw quite a few glaringly obvious mistakes, which somehow I missed. So I cleared it up. Sorry! Whatever I corrected doesn't actually effect the story, but being the perfectionist that I am, I have to make everything.. well… perfect.**

**Sorry again! **


	4. Riveting Revelations

**A.N- People, I don't get it! Is this fic truly soo horrible that you absolutely refuse to review! I really don't get it. Its not that bad, ya know. Its really harming, my self esteem!**

**But I'm continuing this, despite the odds. ( the odds, being the readers)**

**Thankyou, my Beta. I love you! Your support is invaluable**

**Quote: Hold on to things too tight and you'll lose them.**

**Onto the fic: Within the depths,**

**Riveting Revelations**

**By Princess Beeduru**

**Riveting Revelations**

* * *

**In Malfoy Manor**

Draco Malfoy, was once a caring son, he was once the prince of Slytherin, and he was once a person to be greatly respected. The boy in question was now being interrogated by his oh so loving uncle.

His uncle had been trying to get something out of him but to no avail. The boy was REALLY starting to get on his nerves.

'Damnit it Draco, you will listen to me! What happened to you? Why the sudden change!' he barked.

'I'm still the same Uncle Severus.'

'Don't lie to me! I know when you don't speak the truth!'

"Damn Snape and his occlumency," thought Draco.

But in reality you didn't have to be an occlumens to see that Draco was lying. It was apparent by the way he looked. He only had the remains of his once proud demeanor. His cheekbones were jutting out of his skin and the aura of respect he once had, had disappeared. His eyes were even more lifeless than usual, if that was even possible. The cold grey had turned more bleak and calculating. One could never guess that _this_ was the innocent little boy who would play on his uncle's lap many years ago.

Draco's life was going well, or as well as it could in the modern world. He had loving parents, wealth and health. His life had suddenly jolted out of its normal routine with the return of Voldemort in his fourth year at school. After that, life as he knew it, was never the same!

His father had to spend more time out the house than with his family, but Draco didn't mind. He was proud of his father for aligning himself with Voldemort. The one who would rid the world of the filth which inhabited it. He had stood by his father all the way.

Then his father asked him a question which made his dreams come true. He _finally_ had the chance of becoming a death eater!

This was such an honour. Voldemort would never have looked at a boy his age to recruit, but… he _did_. Draco was very grateful. He had made his family proud and most importantly, his father. His mother was a bit apprehensive, as she didn't want her only son to be in danger. However she consoled herself with the fact that Lucius would be there to protect their little boy from harm.

Draco wasn't asked to do much after the initiation ceremony. The only thing he did do was spend his time boasting his involvement whenever he could and naturally everyone was awed.

Draco was jolted back to the present when he felt the familiarity of Severus digging into his soul.

He wasn't ready. Damn it! He cursed for the umpteenth time. He heard his uncle saying, 'Always be ready Draco, you never know when this will happen!'

He felt himself remembering the memories he had locked behind in his past, they were forcing their way through his brain.

He felt as if he was running through the dark tunnels of his mind as he entered the door to his seventeen year old self.

_One day his scar burned red hot. _

He was about to fall asleep when suddenly the pain seared through his arm. Swearing, he pulled his sleeve back and saw that the Mark was an evil, incandescent red. The Dark Lord was beckoning him. Changing into more suitable attire, he left his room to seek out his father. Surely, he would have been summoned too. He was quite surprised that his father hadn't waited for him as he saw that the hallways were devoid of life.

_He should have taken this as a warning sign, but he was blinded by his devotion for Voldemort and love for his father._

_He quickly touched his forearm and whispered the words which would seal his fate and would transport him to Voldemort's side. _

_He felt his feet leave the ground and then come into contact with hard stone. He swayed slightly on the spot, then immediately righted himself. Red slits were staring him in the face. Draco quickly bowed. He was rather puzzled to see no one in the room. What exactly did Voldemort want with him?_

'_Ahh, Draco. You came,' hissed the snake like voice._

'_Of course, my Lord. You summoned me.'_

'_I did, didn't I.' _

_Voldemort seemed to be looking him up and down as if trying to determine something. Finally, he looked up and gave a nod of approval._

'_Draco, I have a mission for you.'_

_Draco's heart swelled with pride. He was chosen by the Lord Himself to do something, which He thought he was capable of. _

'_Yes, my Lord,' he said respectfully._

'_How much do you value Albus Dumbledore?'_

_This question struck Draco very odd indeed. What had this got to do with anything? Seeing he was in a dangerous territory he needed to formulate his answer **very** carefully. _

_He disliked him greatly, but did not hate him. He may have different views than him, but he was still a powerful wizard. But no doubt this was **not** the answer Voldemort was looking for._

'_That muggle loving fool!' he said disdainfully, 'the one who houses mudbloods, muggle lovers and all sorts of wizards who disgrace our name? People say he is powerful, but how can wizard with no regard for true wizarding blood be so great?'_

_Voldemort seemed to be looking through his very soul. Draco now wished he paid more attention to what his uncle had said about occlumency. _

'_So you regard him as feeble?' _

'_No, my Lord. He **is** a force to be reckoned with, a worthy adversary, but it is not impossible to overpower him, with our resources.'_

_The answer seemed to satisfy Voldemort. _

'_Think of this as a test, young Malfoy. One you have to pass so I can be assured of your capability. This will test your secrecy, potential and skill.'_

_Draco tried to not let his excitement show. One of his father's earliest lessons was to never show emotion because it can be used against you. 'I permit you to show them in front of your loved ones, meaning your immediate family. Apart from us, you may not show your feelings.' Floated the voice of Lucius from his memories._

'_Yes, my Lord.' _

'_What I tell you must not leave this room! Do I make myself clear?'_

'_Perfectly.' he replied arrogantly._

'_Your mission is to find a way for my death eaters to get into Hogwarts.'_

'_What?'_

'_Why Draco, is it too hard a task for you?' Voldemort said silkily. _

'_No of course not, my lord,' he said with a hint of annoyance. He would show him how great a wizard he really was. He wasn't a pansy._

'_Your goal is to lead the death eaters inside the castle and to Dumbledore's quarters.'_

'_Okay my lord. May I ask, why?' _

'_Never question me boy!' He shrieked._

' _Seeing as you are not familiar with how things work here I will let this comment slide, however in the future I will not be so generous.'_

_Draco was starting to feel very uncomfortable. What exactly did he want with Hogwarts? His musings were brought to an immediate stop, when Voldemort started speaking._

'_It will be your job to **kill** the fool!' he hissed._

_Draco was momentarily stunned. He wanted **him** to **kill** his headmaster!_

'_What's the matter Draco? Is it too much for you?'_

_Quickly gathering his wits about him he spoke with all the determination he possessed, 'No, of course not my lord. I will not fail you.'_

'_You had better not Mr.Malfoy. The result would be less than pretty, and remember not a word to anyone. Not even to your father.'_

_Not wanting to anger the Dark Lord, Draco acquiesced and disapparated with a pop._

_When he was safe in his own bed, he looked up into the sky and murmured quite eloquently, 'How in bloody hell am I supposed to do this?'_

_Receiving no answer from the stars he proceeded to pound his pillow, until feathers were floating about. Sighing, he decided to get some rest before his mission actually started._

Draco felt himself falling backwards and then felt the pain shooting up his backside as it met with the cold marble floor.

'Get up!' his uncle snarled. He had finally lost his temper.

Gone was the loving uncle and out came the cold hearted bastard who we all know and love.

'That was absolutely pathetic! Have I taught you nothing? You are no better than Po… other mindless idiots I have had to teach!' he spat, while trying to rectify his little slip up.

He may have hated the Potter boy, but he wasn't about to disclose any knowledge regarding him, as it would greatly damage the Order. An organization he was still a part of, though no one accepted him anymore due to the events occurring three months ago. His lip curled while remembering what had happened that night on the astronomy tower.

Draco was not allowed to tell anyone what he was supposed to do as his mission. His parents were very worried. Lucius had practically begged the Dark Lord to tell him, but he only got a Crucio as his answer.

Voldemort only told him, _Severus Snape_ of what was to unfold. He made it quite clear that he didn't want him to help Draco in the slightest, but still wanted to keep a watch on him.

The first thing that he did was alert the Order of what was planned. Dumbledore acted quickly and thought of how to address the situation. Snape had found out that the Dark Lord kept Narcissa and Lucius in his hold. Those two were the incentive for Draco doing what he was ordered to do. If he didn't comply with his master's wishes, his parents would pay the price.

Snape had to coax Draco in to telling him of how far he had progressed in his mission so he could remain on top of things. But it was no easy task; Malfoy's own pride and fear for his parent's lives hindered the Order's plans.

Everything happened so fast afterwards, often resembling a blur of memories tangled up together. The death eaters were at Hogwarts and Dumbledore was not there. He had quickly called the Order and told them to come immediately and then he tried to find Draco, to stop him from what he was going to do.

He came up to the astronomy tower and his heart had literally stopped!

There was his godson with his wand pointed at an exhausted Dumbledore. He realized that the headmaster was trying to take him to the light side, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, all the death eaters slammed open the door from behind him and ran up. They started laughing at Dumbledore's state and began taunting Draco; Snape felt his heart go out to him.

Before anything could happen he stepped forward after received the tiniest of nods from his own saviour, Albus Dumbledore.

With that, his wand swished emitting a green light and then suddenly, Dumbledore's lifeless body was lying feebly on the ground.

He and Dumbledore had discussed this beforehand and he realized they had no time to lose, this was not the time to lament his loss. He quickly sprung into action and barked orders while he grabbed Draco by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away.

They ran for their lives to get to sanctuary and _finally_ they were safe!

Snape gazed at Hogwarts from a distance. He had spent the whole year adjusting himself to this, and now that it was here, it flew by as quick as it came. He had done what it was that he had been told to do and now had to leave. He had prepared himself for the rocky path he would embark on and now was the time to put that preparation to the test.

His eyes focused onto the lump on the floor and remembered where he left off.

'It is crucial for you to perfect this skill Draco if you want to survive in this world. I have not spent the last two years training you for naught!'

Draco was sitting on the floor and was staring disinterestedly at his mentor. His blonde locks falling everywhere.

'Professor, where I am going I won't need to use this skill since there will be no one to use it against.'

'Have you gone utterly daft! Occlumeny will protect you. You will not stay wherever you are going, forever. You will have to come back some day and what will you do if _this_ is your reaction to a legilemens…I will not tolerate this. Wherever you go, you will be tested and and… you need to emerge victorious. You will not bow down to them, I hope I have made myself clear and remember constant vigilance!' **(A.N- I know thats Moody's line).** He added softly, 'Now …legilemens!'

The spell hit Draco like a ton of bricks. It was delving into him, going further and further. The dark tunnel came to a sudden halt and his mothers face appeared. This beautiful vision gave him strength and … surprisingly he started rising to Severus's attack. He stood up shakily and concentrated on repelling the offence. He didn't want him to see the things he had locked up inside of him. The last thought which came to mind was that of Voldemort punishing him, the night of Dumbledore's death.

He looked up into his dark eyes and formed a barrier through which no one could pass.

After what seemed like an age, Snape retreated looking pleased.

'Much better. Remember what I said boy. You need to master this skill such that if you were in a room with a legilemens, they wouldn't even know! Good luck with your task Draco, remember what I have said and go take a shower. You look absolutely disgusting!' With that elegant remark he swept away from the room.

Draco and his colourful words were left in the room. 'How dare he treat me like a mere child!' he exclaimed vehemently. 'Its frickin' pathetic!' he looked over at the cracked mirror to his right.

What did he see? Would be the question to ask. The answer: pain. A broken person. A million little pieces!

He couldn't bear to look beneath the grey of his eyes. He was too much of a weakling to look there. He wanted to hide from …himself. How cowardly! He needed to get away. Get away from the memories of his house, memories he felt he didn't deserve. His father's hearty laugh, his mother's loving caress and the innocence with which he grew up. Not knowing what the world does to people, how life treats Man and how humans treat humans.

Clearing his mind of all forms of thought and emotion he stalked off into the night. Not knowing when he would see his house again, not knowing when he would see his father, his uncle and not knowing when he would truly see himself.

* * *

Lucius was looking at his son from one of the many turrets of the Manor. It hurt him, that he didn't even say goodbye. But then again, he had only returned to the manor now. Draco didn't know he was here. His heart felt like stone as he saw his flesh and blood, battle out alone. Then there was the laughing.

'Hahahahahaha. Awww, is poor Lucius feeling sad! How utterly pathetic!'

Lucius cringed from the screechiness of his sister in law, Bellatrix. There she was, observing him. He wanted nothing more than to tear her into pieces and rip her to shreds, but that would cause him more harm than pleasure, so he kept his peace.

'One day, Bella. One day…' he whispered wistfully.

* * *

**A.N- So that was the end of chapter blah blah blah.**

**I hope you liked it. Gave you more of an insight to the life of our precious slytherin.**

**Now peeps, I would say review review _review. _ButI'm not going to. Oh no! I am leaving it up to you to do what you want. You can either do the right thing and you know what that is. Or you can just do the wrong thing and suffer miserably. Muahahaha!**

**Till later, bye bye.**


	5. Vexing Voyage

**A.N- Hi, its me again!! First of all I want to say a HUGE THANKYOU!!!! To my only reviewer, DracoMalfoyLuver. I love you soooo much, I was jumping around so much from sheer undiluted joy, thankyou soo much for that. My Beta and I resembled a couple of hypereactive, over joyful monkeys when we saw the review. I love you Muah!!**

**Secondly I want to apologize for not uploading in ages. I was incredibly busy with my uncle's wedding, my cousins from abroad coming over after twelve years, and college applications. It's kind of ironic actually that the moment I actually do get a review I don't update for practically two months. Sorry!**

**Anyway, on with the story.**

**Within The Depths**

**Chapter 5: Vexing Voyage**

**By Princess Beeduru**

* * *

'Ron, can you stop that, please!!' Hermione begged. 'It's really distracting.'

She glared at Ron who was drilling his fingers on the tabletop. He sighed in defeat and looked at the scenery whooshing past him.

The three of them had boarded a _muggle_ train for obvious reasons and were well on their way to Wales, their destination getting nearer, second by second.

Hermione was searching the map, trying to find the shortest path to Drygarn Fawr. She was mumbling incoherently to herself, slapping Ron away from her whenever he would lean over her shoulder.

He sighed in relief when their compartment door opened with a hiss, and Harry entered, his arms laden with food.

'Voila,' he said, displaying the snacks, which he bought.

Ron practically jumped him and then was reprimanded by Hermione for being too bouncy.

Rolling his eyes, he began stuffing his mouth with all the Snickers and Mars bars he could get.

Muttering about uncouth youths, Hermione daintily unwrapped a Milky Bar. Harry decided that staring at them wasn't going to affect them in the slightest so he decided to join them in satisfying his hunger.

While munching his food he glossed over the plan. They would be reaching Wales in about two hours and would then switch trains to get to the nearest train station to Drygarn Fawr, located in Powys. After that they would have to go on foot along the valley, to get to their cave.

It would be hard work, as Hermione constantly reminded them. The journey itself was dangerous, not only was the terrain hard to handle but it was rumoured that dark creatures inhabited that area.

Hermione's dark hair, nearly black, was shining in the waning sunlight. Her head was bent in concentration and after a few tense minutes she emerged grinning broadly. 'I've got it!' she exclaimed.

'The sun is starting its decline now so we should be in Powys by evening. We can stay in the Inn there and then continue in the morning. We should be near Drygarn Fawr by about two hours worth of walking.'

'Oh joy!' said Ron sarcastically.

'We are not going to get there by any other means apart from on foot. Don't tell me you want to ride on a broom there, Ron!'

'Well, why not? I mean why don't we go in the night and fly over there. No one will see us and we can get there by the end of the day.' Looking around as if his idea made perfect sense.

Hermione was trying very hard to fight the urge to knock some sense into him. 'Ron, _you_ might like flying into unknown lands in the dark where anything can be lurking about just waiting to catch stupid prey who are idiotic enough to go about wandering there…'

'I don't think I've met anyone apart from Hermione who can talk that long in one breath. Amazing really,' Ron said to Harry in an undertone.

'… but I'm not risking our lives due to your blatant stupidity, it's best if we do as I say.'

She looked over to her companions who were staring at her blankly, sighing in annoyance; she stood up and stormed off.

She was walking along the train, trying to dispel her anger. Truth was that she wasn't really angry with Ron. It was just that the all the tension, expectations and the fear of the unknown made her a little edgy.

After finally calming down she started to walk back. Fragments of conversations drifted towards her, but she paid them no heed for, there were other pressing matters to worry about. That was until something caught her interest.

She saw a couple in the refreshments bar who were conversing about muggles. Hermione quickly drew in a breath and tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, without being noticed.

'Why were there wizards on a _muggle_ train? What are they doing here? Who are they?' she asked herself.

She heard them talk about Draco Malfoy. 'What the hell!? How do they know Draco Malfoy? Is he even _alive_?'

She heard them say that he had been sent away by Him. He was settling something for them, something of great importance.

'Personally I don't trust him. I don't know why the Dark Lord does,' It was a woman's voice speaking in a hushed whisper.

'Don't be silly. Of course he doesn't trust him, this is another test, one which would settle his fate. One more failure and he'll end up like his mother,' the man hissed.

'Oh God. Malfoy is a death eater! These people know him ergo they are death eaters too!!! Oh shit!!'

Suddenly the P.A system boomed that they were about to reach their destination in five minutes. She didn't know that two hours had already passed by.

'Harry and Ron will be worried about me. What if they've started looking for me, no no no, they can't come looking for me, they might be seen.'

She quickly rushed away to their compartment, heaving a sigh of relief when she saw the two boys getting their entire luggage together.

'There you are Hermione. Thought you weren't going to come back,' Harry joked.

'Sorry about earlier, but that's not important,' she wasted no time in telling them what she overheard.

'That son of a bitch…'

'Harry that's not important. What is, is the fact that there are _death eaters_ on the same train as us!! We need to be _extremely_ careful,' placing stress on the word.

'Well I checked out all the exits before we came on,' said Ron.

'And…,' urging him on.

'And we can go through the next few compartments and get out that way. As much as I want to kill those death eaters, we can't draw any attention to ourselves.'

'Okay, so what are we waiting for, let's move,' said Harry.

They got their luggage and opened their door.

Suddenly Hermione's heart froze!

There in front of them stood the couple she had witnessed earlier.

She was now very grateful for the diguses they wore. Seeing Harry's clear forehead and his brown hair, she sighed in relief.

But Harry and Ron didn't know who the two people were.

Remembering that she had to change her personality she quickly readjusted her facial expression and said, 'Hi, like did you want something?' with a flip of her hair.

Harry and Ron whipped around to see her with looks of incredulity, thinking what the hell happened to her.

The couple gave her a look of utmost disgust. 'Muggles' the woman murmured.

The boys had a look of dawning comprehension. Hermione responded with an, 'Excuse me?'

The couple said nothing and just pushed past.

Looking thoroughly relieved, Hermione leaned on the wall and looked over at her boys. She motioned to go back inside. There was no need of changing compartments now that the couple were moving themselves.

At that moment the train stopped and there was a frantic rush to the doors.

'Here we go!' Harry prepared his friends.

Together they disembarked and went in search of the train that would take them to Powys.

Three hours later the trio found themselves in a rather cramped compartment.

'God, could this _be_ more annoying and uncomfortable?' complained Ron.

'That must be the… 29th time you've said that Ron,' responded Hermione.

'Oh, good. You've been keeping count, heaven forbid I think it be the 30th time'

Hermione opened her mouth to retort but was cut short by Harry, '_Please _you guys give it a rest. We're nearly there. Don't waste your energy bickering when it will be needed later on.'

The two saw the sense in his judgement and so agreed. After what seemed an extraordinary amount of time, they reached Powys.

They grabbed their luggage and began dragging it towards the nearest Inn, which happened to be a few miles away. Harry hailed a cab and they drove to the Frolicking Lamb, which they found to be very cosy. Harry and Ron would share a room and Hermione would have one all to herself.

They didn't unpack since they knew that they'd only stay one night there. Their rooms were comfortable, it didn't have the modern luxuries or anything, but it would suffice. The lack of grandeur was more than made up for by the delicious food. It instantly warmed the young travellers and made them sleepy almost instantly. They had a long day ahead of them, well actually many long days ahead of them. They didn't know when the next time would come that they'd have a proper bed to sleep in or if they would have a roof over their heads or even if they would have enough food to last them.

However for the moment they were content. They had gone over the plan so many times that Harry felt that he had memorized each and every word, and one more repeat would drive him increasingly paranoid.

The boys bid Hermione goodnight as she walked into the bedroom next to theirs. Luckily it was adjoined so she felt safe knowing that the boys were right beside her.

Hermione sank into the warm bed, and was trying to get to sleep. As she was dozing off, cold grey eyes came across her thoughts. Shuddering involuntarily, she pulled the covers tighter around herself and managed to fall into a peaceful slumber.

Sunlight was streaming through her window and shining on her face. Grumbling, she turned over and the action suddenly got processed by her brain. There was sunlight, meaning it was morning already!

'Oh, shit!' she shrieked. Panicking, she stumbled out of bed and went over to the adjoining door and started banging on it. She heard muffled responses, a crash and suddenly the knob was turning to reveal a very disgruntled Harry.

'Mione, what's the problem?' he asked groggily.

'The problem?' her eyes widened incredulously. 'The problem, Harry is that we've overslept!' she shrieked. 'We were supposed to be out of here by dawn, its already morning!! Hurry up, get ready and remember that even walls have ears. I don't trust this place.' With that eerie warning, she turned around and started to get ready.

Ten minutes of muttered curses and banging into doors, they _finally _managed to make it out of the Inn and the main city. They were now hiking up a dirt trail which led into the valley of Wye.

Hermione was fuming due to their late start, and the thing which angered her the most was that she couldn't blame anyone because she herself was at fault.

Glaring up at the sky as if waiting for an answer but the only reply that she got was a drop of water in her face. Surprised, she shook her head and to her dismay saw that the sky was about to burst upon her head.

Cursing to no end, she followed Ron who led them into a little cave.

'This sucks so bad!!!' Hermione screeched. 'First of all we wake up incredibly late and now nature decides to bring rain and hinder what little progress we could have made!'

'Don't worry Hermione, it'll be okay'

'And how can you be so sure of that Harry?'

Harry knew his friend well enough to know when not to answer her back as it would only anger her more.

While Hermione seethed at their misfortune Harry turned to Ron who was looking at the map. Noting where Hermione had marked their destination he tried to estimate how long it would take to get there in such conditions.

'So Ron, what do you make of it?'

Ron ruffled his hair anxiously. 'Well Drygarn Fawr is a long way off yet, hate to say it, but Hermione has a right to be worried.'

'If we carry on now, how much longer will it take to get there?'

'Assuming we don't get killed in an avalanche, or get hit by a bolt of lightening or fall from a great height I would say probably five extra hours. It was going to be hard enough for us to get there, but now that the terrain is wet… lets just say its not going to be easy.'

'But can it be done?'

'Yeah mate, it can.'

'Alright then we have to get started. We can use a water repelling charm…oh shit I forgot we can't use magic here. It might be traced.'

Pondering slightly, he said ' No matter, we can still trudge along. We would waste too much time if we wait for the shower to stop. Who knows how long it might take.'

'You're right about that. Well we can't do anything except carry on, oh look Hermione's coming back.'

Hermione sighed before apologizing.

'Don't bother Hermione, its okay. But now let's get going onwards.' Said Ron.

'I'm happy that you guys see the urgency of the situation.'

'Of course, a mission to help defeat Voldemort would hardly be on the bottom of the to do list.'

'Oh haha.' she said dryly.

Making sure they had all their supplies, they resumed trekking. It was extremely hard to see where you were going as the pellets of rain were hitting them hard in the face blurring the limited vision they already had.

After two hours of slipping and sliding the sun decided to peek out of the clouds and lift the darkness. Soon enough the rain stopped, leaving the world as bare as it was when it was born. The land around them seemed more fresh with all the moisture it had, invigorating the trio and giving them a burst of hope. After another hour of walking, Hermione had had enough.

'Come on guys, let's rest.' She panted.

'Now who's being lethargic about the mission huh?' joked Harry

'Oh be quiet. You should be ashamed of yourself, you two know that I am no way near as fit as you guys.'

'Aww is little Hermione tiwed? Maybe Hermione needs to wake up.'

With that Ron started tickling her, amidst all the laughter and shrieking Harry heard Hermione say, 'Please stop! Please, come on! I'll do anything.'

Harry rolled his eyes at the two. Had someone from afar seen the scene, they would think that the two rolling around in mud were a couple, but those close to them would only see their strong friendship which allowed them such intimacy and a brotherly-sisterly love between the two.

After what seemed like hours, Hermione finally resurfaced gasping and clutching her sore tummy. Laughing really takes the energy out of you!!

**(A.N- speaking from experience here)**

The three fell into a peaceful silence with the occasional sound of opening crisp packets and the munching of biscuits. After they finished their lunch they stood up, but Hermione fell down. Rushing to her side, the boys asked her what was wrong.

She replied, 'I just feel tired. After eating … I don't know… I feel lazy.'

'Well, Hermione I'm sorry but you know that we can't have a nap right now, we still have such a long way to go.' Said Ron.

He was starting to get just a bit annoyed with Hermione. In the morning she was on their backs about hurrying up and now… she was being a hypocrite! She wants to take a break from such an important mission. I mean I know she's tired but so are we. We've been trekking the exact same distance. Do you know what! I think I deserve a bit of a rest too.

To Harry's complete surprise he saw Ron fall to the ground.

He just stood there looking completely bewildered at the turn of events, 'What the hell just happened?!'

But no one answered as no one was listening, his two comrades were fast asleep and left him standing alone in the cold.

He went to Ron and tried to nudge him awake, but gentleness didn't work so he started to push him harder. With each shove his eyes started drooping with weariness, his efforts becoming weaker and weaker until he lay there among his friends, motionless.

The day wore on and turned into night yet the three travelers had still not awoken from their slumber. The darkness was slowly spreading as were stormy clouds.

As fortune had it, the majority of clouds decided to gather directly above the area the trio were in.

Big huge droplets started falling, the rain was fast, heavy and showed no intention of stopping.

'Stop it Ginny, ahh I told you I don't like waking up this way. Ginny!!!'

Harry sat up straight, his arms encircling air. Coming to his senses, he realized that he wasn't in his warm and comfy bedroom nor was Ginny the person in his arms. Reality poured down on him with an almighty crash, quite literally as a huge mass of water pelted him in the head.

He quickly stood up and gasped in mortification. It was night and here we are… in a forest… in the dark… it was raining… I can't see… _and _we cant use magic… not exactly the best thing to happen to you when you're trying to defeat Voldemort.

'This is definitely not good!'

'Ya think!!!'

Harry turned around to the source of the voice. He couldn't see where she was but felt Hermione shuffling around.

'I've been awake for about half an hour trying to get you two up, but you guys sleep like rocks. Not even pinching you to death was working!!'

'Hasn't Ron woken up yet?'

'No!! Believe me I tried but I think you just have to wake up yourselves.'

'Wow this is bad. How did it happen?? We were all fine one moment, the next we're like dead!! How does that work out.'

'Beause this Harry… this is the culprit.' She shouted with the proud air of one unveiling Houdini's secret. Harry knew she was brandishing something wildly in the air, due to slight whooshing sounds, but he was at a total loss as to _what exactly _the culprit was.

'Umm, could you be a bit more clearer, I can't really see you, you know because of the dark and the rain.'

With a sheepish giggle Hermione said, ' Oh right sorry, the gulshand plant is the cause. It's probably mating season which is why it's spreading it's pollen.'

'So what, the pollen makes humans fall asleep?'

'Yup, normally the pollen would stay in the air for a very long time. Luckily it rained so it drowned the power of the pollen.'

'Does that mean that we can only trek when it's raining?' Harry was completely shocked. Now how would they get through the journey?

'Well yes, but we can also stay out for a while after it's rained, because it takes some time for the pollen to take it's effect again. Probably about five hours after it rains, that doesn't give us much time. Luckily for us, it's going to rain a lot here so we can get by.'

'Hermione are you okay? You do know that if it was going to take a whole seven hours to get there, now it would take double the time if not it tripled? '

'I'm perfectly aware of that Harry, but now… I think we should be optimistic. There's nothing else to do really,' she finished glumly and resumed brandishing the evil plant which may just have planned their doom.

'Damn!' Harry sighed in frustration.

Suddenly out of the heavy silence a voice bellowed, 'Noooo, get away from me. Get the bloody spiders away from me!!!'

Harry felt something bang against his leg and grunted in pain. Ron had just swung a massive arm out to protect him from the 'spiders'.

'Bloody hell Ron!!! You scared the shit out of me!' one would expect that outburst from Harry but it was actually their female friend.

She was clutching her chest in fright, and breathing heavily. She had been trying to meditate to calm her frazzled nerves and then suddenly she'd been jolted out of peace by the shriek.

'What… where did the spiders go?' Ron asked dumbly.

'Ron you prat, there aren't any spiders. It was a dream, a figment of your imagination,' Harry said furiously while rubbing his sore leg

There was an audible sigh of relief, courtesy of Ron.

'That's good. Wait a minute, why am I wet?'

'It could possibly be that perhaps we are in the middle of a forest where it is raining heavily and we seem to be in the worst part _and_ we can't move back or forward since it's so dark.'

'No way Hermione!' Ron quickly stood up.

'Hey I didn't make the rules! I didn't decide for us to fall asleep out here, it's all the stupid gulshand plant's fault.'

'The what?'

'Harry explain. I just got an idea. Wait a sec, okay.'

'Hermione, no wait tell us where you're going!!Don't move, the ground's slippery and... wet.'

'Well did you expect it to be dry or something,' she responded mildly chuckling.

'_And_ it's dark,' added Ron intelligently.

'I'm right here. Just shut up for a sec.'

'I hate it when she does that,' Ron whispered, but no one heard because the wind picked up again.

All this time Hermione was thinking of how to attain light. That would be the first step towards progress, and after wracking her brain she finally came up with an answer.

She had to use what she had, and they couldn't use magic, so she had to use nature. Making a fire wouldn't do at all, because _obviously_ it was raining and windy.

She then realized that there were gulshands everywhere which were in the process of pollination. That meant there must be loads of insects nearby including the illumabug, which were the evolved species of the fireflies and produced a more intense beam of light.

Hermione quickly whipped out an empty jar from her bag and decided to try catching the illumabugs. A feat not easy when you're in the middle of a thunderstorm, not to mention in the darkness too.

After flailing her arms around madly and sputtering while doing so, she gave up. The rain was stopping her from doing anything productive.

She plopped down on a boulder and resigned herself to the fates and the heavy downpour.

* * *

Dark skies, threatening clouds and over bearing silence were situations which Draco Malfoy was accustomed to, that is why he didn't find his path to his destination at all troublesome. In fact he quite liked it. No one could annoy him out here, no one to look at, no one to waste his time on, no one to please… wait! Did he just think that? How could he? He loved pleasing the Dark Lord. It was his life.

Shaking his head, he blamed the temporary lapse of insanity on the bad mood he was in.

He had been walking through an abandoned alleyway when a gang of teenagers decided to corner him and take his money. Not exactly the best idea when the person you're confronting is Draco Malfoy. At first Draco decided on humoring them and played along with the nonsensical banter, but then the lead member decided to get funny by jabbing him in the neck with a knife.

That was when Draco's generosity gave out, and in a flash of green light the four goons were laying on the dirty ground with their eyes open and glassy. The lead member sported a rather ugly gash in his chest whereas the other guys got off easy with just death.

Draco was berating himself, how could those stupid people mistake him for a commoner. Was he not intimidating enough anymore? Well he just had to fix that now didn't he.

He stalked through the dark of the night wishing the days to go faster. It had been almost three weeks since he had left his manor. He had been traveling on foot for the past few weeks as his mission was of utmost secrecy and did not want any magic to be traced to him but now it was getting…dare he say it, tedious. He had survived on a fortnight's ration of food, three change of clothes and a wizarding tent.

After days of trekking, he had finally reached Wales and was well on his way on getting to his destination which was a cave hidden deep within the mountains. His mission was very important and could very well be the preservation of the death eater race. His job was to find that cave and make it suitable for death eater inhabitation. It sounded more menial then it actually was. He had to make sure that it was completely off the map and unknown to muggles and had to find out who had been there in the last thirteen years as well as their current location not to mention the innumerable spells and curses he had to place on it.

It had been raining continuously, which had hindered his process but he still managed to get quite close to the cave. Luckily for him the rain had stopped and the day was clear and bright he was about one hour away from the cave.

His head was feeling heavy with each step, he so dearly wanted a lie down, but NO!! HE COULDN'T DO THAT. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE CAVE LAST WEEK. HOW COULD HE EVEN THINK OF DELAYING THE DARK LORD'S PLAN EVEN MORE.!!

He forced his eyes to open and continued on his soon to be finished, wearisome journey. Finally after an age Draco saw what he wanted to.

The cave.

He rummaged around in his bag and found the piece of paper on which he had written everything down.

'Yes,' he said while comparing the features of the cave with that on his paper, 'this is the right one! I have not failed you Master!'

He stumbled up to the entrance and murmured incantations which would permit him to enter. The stone wall gave way and he was sucked in as if he was in a vacuum. He fell unceremoniously to the floor; trying to get up but only succeeded in crawling a few centimeters. He found his head too heavy to move and ended up succumbing to a deep deep slumber: one which could take days to wake up from.

Why you ask? All because of the Gulshand plant and Draco's unawareness about it.

* * *

Two days later a panting Hermione, a black and blue Ron and a very tired looking Harry all made their appearance infront of a set of identical caves.

' Right,' she paused for breath, 'one of these is the ,' she paused before continuing, 'the entrance,' she panted, 'give me a minute will you.'

She breathed in and out, trying to gain some sense of composure. It had stopped raining half an hour ago, and they had decided that the remaining hour of their journey should be completed in a mad dash to the end. It didn't fare well with Hermione as was evident from her deep breathing, Ron had slipped on the wet ground and had to battle with a spunkle: creatures who resembled a dog until it was their feeding time and insanely sharp horns and fangs came out.

Hermione dove into her bag to get her research out. After scanning it for five minutes or so she declared that the cave on their right was the one they were supposed to go to. She fingered the indentations on the stone wall, letting her hands delve into grooves and whispered, 'Levanto Uanlo!'

With a painful creaking noise the wall simply …faded into nothingness, the trio looked on in surprise.

Hermione turned toward them, while taking in a deep breath. 'Okay guys, now I'm not sure what might exactly happen inside the cave but what I do know is that there are instructions in there. These will most probably be written on scrolls and you need to be extremely careful while handling them. Hang on to your copies of my research at all times, I've written down the signs which will point you into the right direction so keep looking at them.'

She paused and looked to each of her friends, they all felt the unspoken fear in the air. Would they be successful? Would they still be alive at the end? Who knew what lay inside the tomb of Helga Hufflepuff.

Hermione launched herself at the two boys and held them close to her. Harry reveled in the moment, and basked in her comfort. Ron remembered all the times that they used to have group hugs and knew that he would sorely miss them.

Looking at each other and nodding to themselves the trio held onto each others hands, passed nervous smiles and stepped into the darkness.

Hermione couldn't help but scream as the entrance of the cave somehow sucked her in. Her tight grasp on Harry and Ron proved to be no hindrance whatsoever to the force and with an almighty wrench she was pulled altogether from the two boys and hurtled down to a painful landing. Cracking an eye open, she was glad to see a boy lying besides her but her relief was short lived when she saw that he was neither Harry nor Ron. Panic flooded through her body as the boy's hood shifted and a shaggy mane of platinum blonde hair made its way into her vision.

'Oh shit!' was the last thing she thought before passing out.

* * *

**A.N- I really hoped you guys liked it. Please send me your comments whether bad or good, ( but mostly good please :P hehe.) Also I had a question to ask you guys, do you terribly mind my A.N's in the middle of the fic? Please do tell me and hey, REVIEW. Till next time, See Ya!! **


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